Retro Studios

Is Retro Studios REALLY making a Star Fox racing game for the Switch? It sounds crazy, but all manner of sources around the Internet are reporting it as true. Simeon and Scott share their take on the rumors currently circulating ahead of E3.

What do you think Retro is working on? I wonder if we’ll see their secret project at E3 this year!

Those are the kinds of things you commonly hear about this time of year. The Electronic Entertainment Expo looms ahead, hype rises, and with it come the skyrocketing hopes and expectations of Nintendo fans around the globe.

I’d prefer to burst your bubble now, rather than wait until the press conferences and live streams have died down and another convention happens without a miraculous reveal from the Austin, TX based developers.

Retro Studios isn’t special anymore.

It’s been years since the 2nd party put anything truly meaningful out onto the market. Yes, the trilogy of Metroid Prime games was epic. But since? They helped on some courses for Mario Kart 7. And they’ve made a pair of Donkey Kong platformers.

I’m not here to besmirch the latest Donkey Kong Country games, but you’ve got to admit—they’re a tame affair compared to the hype that surrounded the Metroid series’ simultaneous revival and leap into the third dimension.

Platformers are run-of-the-mill Nintendo fodder. What with the New Super Mario Bros. series, Kirby games, and other shoe-horned franchises like Chibi-Robo and Pikmin, we’re not hurting for 2D side-scrollers by any means. Yet, this is what Nintendo charges their once-lauded team of USA developers with.

Haven’t you grown tired of asking (year after year) what Retro is up to? Crossing your fingers, hoping the time will finally come for the reveal that will blow the wrist straps right off your Joy-Con?

They formed Armature Studios and created an Arkham game. Coincidentally, have you heard that series has Metroid Prime-like progression?

More recently, senior designer Kynan Pearson exited the company to join 343 Industries, where other former-Retro personnel joined the development of Halo 4.
Senior designer Mike Wikan quit Retro and was hired at id Software.

Kensuke Tanabe, Producer of the Metroid Prime trilogy and modern Donkey Kong Country games, lost touch with the studio and is now acting as Producer for Metroid Prime 4, a title being developed outside of Retro Studios.

Why do you think Nintendo turned to another developer for Prime 4?
It’s because Retro is not what it used to be. You might have an image in your mind’s eye of all the people who made Prime 1-3, huddled around their desks, secretively working away at the Next Big Thing.

Sadly, that’s not reality. There’s been so much turnover in the decade between today and Samus’ last title on Wii. Those developers are spread out across the industry, making games for other consoles.

If you enjoy being disappointed, keep holding out hope for Reggie to say “before we let you go, we’ve got one more trailer to show you that we think you will really enjoy!”

But if you’d rather not board the emotional rollercoaster, learn to be content with two simple things: Karts and Kongs.

While the King of Kong scandal, centered on the alleged cheater Billy Mitchel, is heating up, Donkey Kong is yet again taking center stage in a port on the Nintendo Switch, and the timing couldn’t be better for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. If you know anything about me, you probably know that I am an absolute sucker for playing games at certain times of the year and this one is a perfect game to pick up in the summer. It starts out in the tropics and the player progresses into the later levels that slowly transition into dark and wintry which feel oddly dystopian. Tropical Freeze happens to be one of my favorite Wii U games. While this statement may not seem that earth shattering (sorry, Wii U), Tropical Freeze puts on a master class of what a platformer should be. It’s a challenging game and when player gets comfortable with one thing, the game throws in something totally new and unexpected. It took everything that was right with Donkey Kong Country Returns and amped up the experience tenfold.

First off, the game is pure beauty. The tropical vistas have never looked better, and the water effects are top notch. For me, the thing that sets this game apart is the ambiance. This is something that is hard to get right, and many developers still haven’t figured it out. It’s amazing how Retro Studios captures the ominous feeling of a dark and scary storm approaching on a clear and beautiful day. This game has the player experience the environment through the use of genius shading, intricate detail of the environment, and what seems to be a real life simulation of weather changes and other natural disasters. Whether the player is swimming deep in the ocean while there is a thunderstorm looming overhead, running through a scorching wild fire, or even bracing through a tornado, there is never a dull moment. What sets this apart from recent Mario side scrollers is that nothing is blocky and linear, it all looks like natural environment and from a development perspective, there is no noticeable copy and pasting of environmental textures going on.

Of course, the ambiance wouldn’t be possible without the music. David Wise, who was the composer for the original DKC Trilogy, captures the same magical feeling through his sweeping and oddly calming scores. Playing through the game, the level that actually gave me goose bumps was Grassland Grooves in the Bright Savannah. This level starts slow and builds up to a grand climax of cheerful music and visuals. It’s not all pleasant though. Some of the music also matches the fear of a raging thunderstorm and it only adds to the intensity. If you don’t believe me that this game has intense music, go ahead and Youtube “Vikings Island Theme” and tell me that isn’t one of the most adrenaline inducing songs you have ever heard.

Like any game, however, it does have some flaws. My biggest gripe is that there isn’t really enough variety between characters. Cranky Kong’s “Duck Tales” pogo-cane technique is fun, but the game never really forced me to utilize it so I usually wound up using Dixie Kong for her twirl technique. I do want to note that it never really subtracted from the gameplay. The other issue with the Wii U version was load times. These were downright awful. Loading a level could take upwards of half a minute, and sometimes it felt even longer. Lastly, some people critique the challenge in this game. Personally, I have no issue with it, but I can see where it would be challenging for newcomers of the series. The Switch version seems to have a solution for every one of these issues. For one, Funky Kong is now a playable character and should take some of that difficulty edge off. I’m not sure how much I will use him, but it’s nonetheless a neat addition. I’m expecting load times to be better based on the new hardware, but that is to be determined.

So if you can’t tell by now, I’m pretty pumped to play this game again. It should be a huge success on the Switch and will give those that didn’t want to get near the Wii-U a crack at a game that was already near perfection. By nature, platformers are great “pick up and play” games, so it should adapt perfectly to the Switch. Up to this point, I haven’t used the Switch portable feature much, but I predict that should change upon release of this game. Though the price point may seem a little steep for a release of an older game, if you have never experienced the joy that is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, do yourself a favor, pick it up, and go bananas. (Sorry!)

Nintendo decided to rerelase Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Nintendo Switch at a high price point… $40 higher than the Wii U Nintendo Selects version, and $10 higher than they charged for the original at launch. This game is now 4 years old… something smells fishy… Oh—nevermind, it’s just some frozen fish.

Nintendo’s got the money, they have the know-how… now all they need to do is cut the check. We’ve compiled a list of purchases the Big N needs to make in the gaming industry. Development studios. 3rd party characters. Indie franchises. It’s all here, asking to be scooped up by Nintendo!

#560 – Retro Studios is home to some of Nintendo’s most talented developers, but it always seems like such a mystery what they’re working on! Each year as E3 approaches, speculation is always bound to circle one topic: What is Retro cooking up in Austin Texas? Some hope for a new Metroid Prime, while others are content with Donkey Kong Country, Returns entries, but what about new IP? We discuss all the possibilities in today’s episode of the Two Button Crew show.